Housing Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao today urged the steel companies to cooperate with the government for constructing two-bedroom housings for the poor.
At a meeting with the owners of the steel companies and Housing Corporation chairman M Bhum Reddy at the Secretariat, the ministers said the cement companies were offering cement @ Rs 230 a bag for the noted project unmindful of changes in market rates. “The steel companies should offer the required 5.27 lakh metric tons of steel on base rate. The government was providing free of cost the housing facility to the poor at villages and GHMC purview”, they added. Villages need 1.45 lakh metric tons of cement and 60,000 houses in towns need 1.04 lakh metric tons and one lakh houses in the GHMC need 2.78 lakh metric tons.
The ministers said the government will make online payments with transparency and the steel companies should avoid making benefits and provide the cement with reasonable rates, they said. Another round of meeting with cement companies will be conducted in a few days to take a call, they said. The owners of steel companies, who attended the meeting, said they will inform the other companies on the government proposals for low price of steel supply and come up with a decision.
The ministers directed Housing special chief secretary Chitra Ramachandran to hold another round of meeting with the companies to take a decision. All India Steel Association Chairman Suresh Kumar Singhal, Vishaka Steel Plant, Jindal Steel, Shalini Steel companies and other eight companies attended the meeting. Municipal Director Dr TK Sridevi, Labour Department principal secretary Shashank Goel, Commercial Taxes Commissioner Anil Kumar and other officials were present. (NSS)